Review of vision-based safety systems for human-robot collaboration

Abstract Safety in human-robot collaborative manufacturing is ensured by various types of safety systems that help to avoid collisions and limit impact forces to the acceptable level in a case of collisions. Recently, active vision-based safety systems have gained momentum due to their affordable price (e.g. off-the-shelf RGB or depth cameras and projectors), flexible installation and easy tailoring. However, these systems have not been widely adopted and standardized. The vision-based commercial products can only be found in a limited number. In this work, we review the recent methods in vision-based technologies applied in human-robot interaction and/or collaboration scenarios, and provide a technology analysis of these. The aim of this review is to provide a comparative analysis of the current readiness level of vision based safety systems for industrial requirements and highlight the important components that are missing. The factors that are analysed as such are use case flexibility, system speed and level of collaboration.

[1]  Matteo Parigi Polverini,et al.  Real-time collision avoidance in human-robot interaction based on kinetostatic safety field , 2014, 2014 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[2]  André Crosnier,et al.  Collaborative manufacturing with physical human–robot interaction , 2016 .

[3]  Robin Passama,et al.  A unified multimodal control framework for human-robot interaction , 2015, Robotics Auton. Syst..

[4]  Lihui Wang,et al.  Contact-less and Programming-less Human-Robot Collaboration , 2013 .

[5]  Rafiq Ahmad,et al.  Human-Robot Collaboration: Twofold strategy algorithm to avoid collisions using ToF sensor , 2014 .

[6]  Matteo Saveriano,et al.  Point cloud based dynamical system modulation for reactive avoidance of convex and concave obstacles , 2013, 2013 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[7]  Terrence Fong,et al.  A Survey of Methods for Safe Human-Robot Interaction , 2017, Found. Trends Robotics.

[8]  Reid G. Simmons,et al.  Sensor fusion for human safety in industrial workcells , 2012, 2012 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[9]  Oussama Khatib,et al.  Real-Time Obstacle Avoidance for Manipulators and Mobile Robots , 1985, Autonomous Robot Vehicles.

[10]  Paolo Rocco,et al.  Kinetostatic danger field - a novel safety assessment for human-robot interaction , 2010, 2010 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[11]  Matteo Saveriano,et al.  Distance based dynamical system modulation for reactive avoidance of moving obstacles , 2014, 2014 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA).

[12]  Mohamad Bdiwi.  Integrated Sensors System for Human Safety during Cooperating with Industrial Robots for Handing-over and Assembling Tasks , 2014 .

[13]  Marko Pfeifer,et al.  A new strategy for ensuring human safety during various levels of interaction with industrial robots , 2017 .

[14]  Matteo Parigi Polverini,et al.  A computationally efficient safety assessment for collaborative robotics applications , 2017 .

[15]  Christoph Walter,et al.  A projection-based sensor system for safe physical human-robot collaboration , 2013, 2013 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[16]  Lihui Wang,et al.  Vision-guided active collision avoidance for human-robot collaborations , 2013 .

[17]  Lihui Wang,et al.  Human-robot collaborative assembly in cyber-physical production: Classification framework and implementation , 2017 .

[18]  Lorenzo Molinari Tosatti,et al.  SafeNet of Unsafe Devices - Extending the Robot Safety in Collaborative Workspaces , 2013, ICINCO.

[19]  Jeffrey Too Chuan Tan,et al.  Triple stereo vision system for safety monitoring of human-robot collaboration in cellular manufacturing , 2011, 2011 IEEE International Symposium on Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM).

[20]  Oussama Khatib,et al.  A Depth Space Approach for Evaluating Distance to Objects , 2015, J. Intell. Robotic Syst..

[21]  Carlos Morato,et al.  Toward Safe Human Robot Collaboration by Using Multiple Kinects Based Real-Time Human Tracking , 2014, J. Comput. Inf. Sci. Eng..

[22]  Lihui Wang,et al.  Depth camera based collision avoidance via active robot control , 2014 .

[23]  Alexander Verl,et al.  Cooperation of human and machines in assembly lines , 2009 .

[24]  Alessandro De Luca,et al.  Integrated control for pHRI: Collision avoidance, detection, reaction and collaboration , 2012, 2012 4th IEEE RAS & EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob).

[25]  Dmitry Berenson,et al.  Human-robot collaborative manipulation planning using early prediction of human motion , 2013, 2013 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[26]  André Crosnier,et al.  Multimodal control for human-robot cooperation , 2013, 2013 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[27]  Jeremy A. Marvel,et al.  Performance Metrics of Speed and Separation Monitoring in Shared Workspaces , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering.

[28]  Paolo Rocco,et al.  Towards safe human-robot interaction in robotic cells: An approach based on visual tracking and intention estimation , 2011, 2011 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[29]  Alessandro De Luca,et al.  Real-Time Computation of Distance to Dynamic Obstacles With Multiple Depth Sensors , 2017, IEEE Robotics Autom. Lett..

[30]  Jeremy A Marvel,et al.  Implementing Speed and Separation Monitoring in Collaborative Robot Workcells. , 2017, Robotics and computer-integrated manufacturing.

[31]  Francisco A. Candelas,et al.  Safe human-robot interaction based on dynamic sphere-swept line bounding volumes , 2011 .

[32]  Lihui Wang,et al.  Active collision avoidance for human–robot collaboration driven by vision sensors , 2017, Int. J. Comput. Integr. Manuf..

[33]  Alessandro De Luca,et al.  Sensorless Robot Collision Detection and Hybrid Force/Motion Control , 2005, Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[34]  Christoph Walter,et al.  Safeguarding and Supporting Future Human-robot Cooperative Manufacturing Processes by a Projection- and Camera-based Technology , 2017 .

[35]  Oussama Khatib,et al.  A depth space approach to human-robot collision avoidance , 2012, 2012 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.